Mechanical properties of a cellular vehicle body structure with negative Poisson’s ratio and enhanced strength

A new cellular vehicle body structure (Negative Poisson’s Ratio vehicle body structure) with negative Poisson’s ratio and enhanced strength is presented in this study. Due to high shear strength and Young’s modulus increment rate, the vehicle body made of this structure shows lower mass and higher performance. By developing a theoretical analytical model and a finite element analysis (FEA) model of Negative Poisson’s Ratio (NPR) structure cell, the effect of relative density and topological structure on the linear and nonlinear properties is studied. A compressive experiment using a 3*3 NPR structure sample made of ABS material was developed. The experimental results concluded that NPR structure possesses the negative Poisson’s (between 0 and −1) and enhanced strength under in-plane compression, which provide theoretical significance on developing lightweight vehicle body.